Bets & Walls
by elisethewritingbeast
Summary: Captain Swan high school AU. Nerd!Killian and Cheerleader!Emma A gift for an old friend on her birthday. Will bets Killian 100 that he can't get Emma to go on a date with him. He really needs the money, and he can only hope that she's the charitable type. (spoiler: she is) Rated for language


Emma Swan was just a regular girl. Sure, she was a cheerleader, one of the "cool kids" perhaps, but she liked to think that she was normal. Maybe this word was so important to her because she'd only joined the Nolan family a few years ago, just before she started high school. Now, she had the best brother a girl could ask for, a best friend who always made her laugh, and basically a sister because she knew that one day her brother would marry that girl.

But Emma still found ways that her past slipped in through the cracks in her walls, digging a hole in her mind that made her think things she wished she could forget. She still felt lost sometimes, sitting at a table in the cafeteria with David, Mary Margaret, and Ruby, trying to listen to their mindless chatter about this and that but not really being able to, her brain pulling her back to her isolated ways from the millions of foster homes she fell in and out of in her time before living with Ruth and David.

She felt like she needed to give herself a mental slap, or maybe a real one. She was being ridiculous, really. She should be worried about the next football game her brother would play in, and what cheers she, Ruby, and M's needed to remember. She didn't need to be thinking of that time. The Dark Ages, as she so sweetly dubbed it. The name was fitting, because there truly was no light in her life until she met David and Ruth.

She left the cafeteria feeling a bit guilty, taking her time wandering to her locker and enjoying the mind-numbing buzz of the crowded hallways around her.

At her locker, she found what she needed for trigonometry and moved her hand to close the door, when a figure appeared beside her. That cute boy from her AP History class, Killian, she remembered.

He always had a book with him, usually a classic, and would often spend class doodling instead of taking notes. He never needed to, and despite his never paying attention, he knew the material better than anyone, except for maybe herself. He was quiet, kept to himself, and had that look in his eyes that she knew all too well.

"Hi," he said shyly.

"Hi," she wondered why he was talking to her; he never had before. It was a shame, really.

"I have a favor to ask of you," he mumbled, obviously nervous. The way his hand moved to scratch behind his ear made her smile. She didn't respond, just raised an eyebrow, so he went on. "Well, Will bet me one hundred dollars that I couldn't get you to go out with me. I don't think I could, but I really could use one hundred dollars, and I was hoping that you might be the charitable type…" he trailed off, so unsure of himself that she had to suppress another smile.

"Sure, but you're buying," she told him, and couldn't help but laugh under her breath at the shocked look on his face. She turned to her locker, scribbling her number on a sticky note and passing it to him. "Here," was all she said before she shut her locker and left to go to trig. She didn't look back to see the look on his face, but she knew it would've made her giggle like a school girl. But wasn't that exactly who she was?

They solidified their plans over the rest of the week, and come Saturday night, Killian Jones was picking her up at Ruth's house. She inquired about just not going out but saying they did, but apparently Will wanted photographic proof.

David lounged on her bed while she finished her eyeliner, grumbling as he usually did. "Why are you going out with Jones again?"

She rolled her eyes. "He's nice, David. Get over it. Besides, it's just one date,"

"Fine, but I can give him the big brother speech if you want,"

"No!" She nearly jumped. "No, absolutely not. Please don't do that," her brother was very intimidating when given the opportunity.

There was a knock on her door at seven o'clock on the dot, and she noted that he was definitely the punctual type. She swung open the door, and she honestly wanted to gasp at how honestly attractive he looked, but the way his eyes slid up her body and how he swallowed so nervously...it made her heart rate speed up ridiculously.

He held the car door open for her. "What a gentleman," she commented.

Killian's reply was quick. "I'm always a gentleman, love." It made her weak in the knees.

He took her to the only fancy restaurant in town, a little Italian place, and they even had reservations. No one had ever made reservations for her. He even pushed in her chair, and she couldn't believe how much she felt like a real princess. She brushed the skirt of her pale pink dress anxiously as he sat down, feeling a little out of place.

She'd had boyfriends before. Well, boyfriend, singular. Neal. It was a whirlwind romance that turned into no more than a summer fling. He beat at her walls with a baseball bat, but it hurt her when he swung. David had hated him from the start, and that really should've been enough to make her wary.

But Neal, Neal never treated her like this. He never sat across from her at the fanciest restaurant he could find, smiling hesitantly at her. He didn't hold her door, or make reservations, or push in her chair. Neal was no gentleman.

"So, do you make bets with Will Scarlet often?" She asked conversationally.

He laughed, and she could see the tension leave his shoulders. "Not usually, no. But he was feeling particularly bored the other day, and well, I could use the money."

"Makes sense," she commented, and then their conversation was halted until they could order their food.

Once their waiter was gone, she relaxed slightly. "You really know how to make a girl feel special, Jones. Had a lot of practice on that front?"

His eyebrow cocked and he smirked. "Are you asking me about past romances, Swan?"

She rolled her eyes. "I'm just saying, you do plan a good night out,"

He shifted in his seat, swallowing. "To be honest, Swan, I was worried you might think it wasn't enough. You deserve to be properly wined and dined, if you'll excuse the cliché."

She couldn't meet his eyes, and she fiddled with the chain around her neck. "I'm not so sure about that," she muttered.

If she'd been looking, she would've seen the way his eyes darkened slightly at his words. "That's ridiculous, Swan," he almost scoffed.

She shook her head, finally meeting his gaze. "Why don't you tell me something about yourself, Killian?" She changed the topic.

He chuckled. "What do you want to know?"

"I dunno," she picked the first thing that came to mind. "What's your favorite movie?"

"Well, it's sort of embarrassing, really,"

"Why do you say that?" She found him fascinating, and she couldn't help her outburst of curiosity.

He waited a moment, as if he were trying to figure out what to say. "It was my mum's favorite movie, and we watched it all the time together before…" he cleared his throat, "when I was younger." She knew not to push, and kept silent until he answered her question. "The Princess Bride."

Her eyes widened, and she thought that if she were standing, she would need to sit down. "No way,"

"What?"

"That's my favorite movie, too." And then his eyes matched hers in size and they sat there for a few moments in shocked silence.

"What are the chances?" He wondered aloud.

"That's crazy, really," she shook her head in disbelief.

"Almost...inconceivable." They stared at each other for a moment before bursting into laughter.

The rest of dinner passed with lively conversation, filled with laughter and (just maybe) a little flirting. She was absolutely stunned by how much she liked Killian.

After they left the restaurant, he offered an alternative to taking her home right away. "Fancy a walk down at the docks?"

"Sure," she said, glad she had an excuse to extend their perfect evening.

The air was warm and the water was calm, and they walked with their shoulders just barely touching down to the edge of the dock, where Emma took a seat and let her legs dangle over the water. He joined her, sitting a bit farther than she had hoped he would.

"You never did answer my question earlier," she told him, staring out at the soft waves in the distance.

"Hm?"

"My question. About girls," she clarified.

"Oh," he paused, eyebrows furrowing. "No, no girls. It has never really...come up before."

"Really?" She asked.

He looked at her, smiling gingerly. "Does that surprise you?"

"Sort of," she said, and when he looked at her curiously, she added, "you're just good at this, I guess."

"Am I?" His grin grew.

"Don't get a big head or anything, but yeah. Definitely makes a girl feel like a princess."

"Well, you deserve nothing less." He was so genuine that Emma shivered. "Cold?" He asked, concerned. She shook her head, but he didn't believe her. And as if it weren't the most cliché thing he could have done, he shrugged off his leather jacket and put it over her shoulders.

They enjoyed the natural and comfortable silence that came with gently crashing waves and whispering wind. Emma and Killian sat there for a while, just basking in the peacefulness of it and appreciating each other's company.

Anyone's voice but his would've cut through the silence, slicing it and making it bleed, but his caressed the quiet, making her feel warm and light. "You seemed...surprised," he said.

"Hm?"

"Surprised, earlier. At the restaurant, the reservations, it surprised you. Why?" He asked.

"Oh, well, I guess that my last boyfriend wasn't really one to make reservations at the nicest place in town," she shrugged.

"It was Neal Gold, right?"

"Yeah," she still felt a stab at his name, but she also felt like someone was there to put pressure on her wound.

"Sorry, but he's kind of a dick,"

She laughed, releasing the tension in her body. "Oh, absolutely. He did a lot of things and said a lot of things that I think my brother would've killed him for,"

"So he's the reason you think you don't deserve to be treated like a princess," he stated, and it sounded nothing like a question.

"I guess, maybe. He just...reminded me of who I am,"

"And just who are you, Swan?"

"Wouldn't you like to know," she said, a hint of teasing in her voice.

"Perhaps I would," he was so honest, so authentic that it made her heart shudder.

Another minute of silence passed between them before she spoke again.

"I was left on the side of the highway as a baby. I bounced around foster care for years, always the girl no one wanted. Just a lost girl, never anything more." Her arms moved to hug herself almost subconsciously. "And then I found David and Ruth. I was fourteen when they took me in, and I could never have asked for a better family. I never dreamed I would even have one to begin with."

He watched her carefully in the moonlight, taking in all her words and every flicker of her eyes. But what he felt wasn't pity, it was understanding.

"My dad left us when I was seven, just after we found out mum was sick. My brother Liam took care of her–and me–until she died. They took me away from him after that. He was too young to be my legal guardian. He was only just able to find me again, right before we moved here."

It was her turn to watch him, watch as the words fell out of his lips as if they'd been waiting to do that forever. The weight that sat between them had been lifted.

Emma's hand moved slightly, just enough to cover Killian's. His eyes flitted to hers, and then he flipped his hand so his fingers could lock with hers.

Killian Jones was slowly disassembling her walls, brick by brick. He was careful, and all he had to do was give it a slight tug, no breaking required.

It was late by the time they made it back to Ruth's place (Emma's place), but she still didn't want the night to end. They stood on her porch, hands still intertwined.

"Thank you. For tonight," she said, smiling up at him.

"It was truly my pleasure, Swan. I'm only glad you had a good time," he told her.

"I'm really happy that Will made that bet," she told him. "Oh my god, we forgot to take pictures! We don't have any photographic evidence for him,"

"Well, I guess we'll just have to go out again, won't we?" He smirked.

"I don't think I'd mind that too much," she murmured, her eyes catching on his lips.

"No?" He asked, leaning in somewhat.

"No, I don't think I would." She said, closing the distance between them and captured his lips with hers.


End file.
